To keep up in the modern business world, digital marketing is a must. Businesses of all shapes and sizes are now engaged in marketing activities online, and for good reason. The first rule of marketing is to meet your customers where they are, and now more than ever before, they are online.
Of course, just saying that you are going to use ‘digital marketing’ to promote your business isn’t saying much. This is a huge field, and you need to narrow your focus if you are going to have success. The trends are always changing and evolving online, and it is your job to keep up with the times.
To help in that quest, we have identified some of the major online marketing trends to follow in 2018. Let’s take a look.
Video Goes Live
Using videos to promote your business online is not a new development, but the trend toward live video does continue to pick up steam. A live video is a great way to engage with your target audience, as they can feel your personality coming right through the screen. Where pre-made videos can come across as scripted – like a TV commercial – live videos have a raw feel that makes it easier to connect with the audience. Think of ways in which your business could use live video and you might open up access to a new customer base.
Social Media Takes a Plan
You shouldn’t expect to just update your social media accounts a couple times a day and have a stream of leads start to flood into your business. Like any other form of online marketing, social media marketing takes attention to detail, hard work, and persistence. If you don’t have the knowledge in-house to develop a quality social media plan, it is a good idea to work with an expert in the field. Social media is huge, of course, but it will only benefit your business if you think critically and use it efficiently.
Great Content Has Value
When producing content to represent your business online – things like blog posts, articles, etc. – you need to remember that quality comes above everything else. When you post quality content to the web, you represent your business in a positive light. If you opt for cheap, low-grade content? Well, you can imagine what that says about your company. In a competitive marketplace, you don’t want to give the competition any opportunity to move ahead of you. Commit to great content and impress your customers at every turn.
Local, Local, Local
In some ways, it is ironic that the World Wide Web has made local SEO and marketing efforts more important than ever before. Thanks to the way search engines work, however, that is exactly what has happened. While people have access to an entire world of information right on their phones, that information is usually telling them things about their local community. If you have a business which serves a local market, you’ll want to make sure that market is very much aware of your services. Focus on the local aspect of your digital marketing for best results.
